Pawandeep Singh, an engineer by profession but an ardent traveller, has it in his DNA to travel. He has been travelling for many years, full of enthusiasm and curiosity, attempting to influence people's perceptions of how travel does not have to be expensive. He shared some of his travel insights with us, which honestly left us awestruck! So if you are an amateur globetrotter trying to figure out your way around travelling, read on for some amazing insights from such an experienced adventurer!
1. How long have you been travelling and what inspired you to do that?
Travelling is in my blood. I have been travelling for the last 7 years on and off. I have been doing that since 2015 and it goes long back. My father was also a traveller, he visited a lot of countries in the 80s and 90s. I make videos on budget travelling and my motive is to tell the world that a man who earns even like 10-20k a month can explore new places and enjoy. Mostly, the Indian mindset is that you need a lot of money if you want to travel somewhere, but it's actually not the money. There are several ways in which you can have a great vacation without spending a lot of money.
2. Your Instagram bio says you’re an engineer, so is travelling something that you do in your free time?
Yes, I have done my bachelors in mechanical engineering and right now I'm doing my masters and working simultaneously. As of now, travelling is not a full-time thing but I want to take it to that. Travelling full time is tricky, Indian culture is not like that. I have to make the ends meet. But I have been trying and hopefully one day I will get to travel full-time.
3. According to you, what is the outlook of the Indian Travel Industry?
In India, the travel industry is huge. We have such a rich heritage and culture, there is so much diversity. However, I feel that tourism isn’t promoted here like other countries. I worked in immigration for two years in India. There is a lot of scope for tourism there. Every state has their own culture, there is so much diversity! It’s much bigger than any other country, but it's not promoted because Indians often hold themselves back from travelling because of the expenses.
4. Have you ever done any travel planning or consultations for your followers?
No, I haven’t. I have worked in immigration for two years but when I promote these things on my channel, people think it's for the money which is not my motive. I have never consulted anyone on my Instagram or Youtube. People do ask me travel-related questions but I always ask them to do their own research. Travel, in general, is not an expensive affair if we plan properly, many think that it is due to a lack of awareness.
5. How many countries have you visited ever since you started travelling? According to you, what are your top 3 places or experiences that you cherish the most?
I have visited about 17 or 18 countries. It's a little hard to choose, every country has its own beauty and its own experiences that I cherish a lot. But if I have to choose, first would be Israel. I was there in 2019, it's a great place, there are a lot of things to do. I was especially fascinated by the Dead Sea and North Israel. The second one would be Turkey. Turkish food, in my opinion, is the best! Turkey has also got a lot of diversity, there are people from Kurdistan, Iraq, and Iran. It's a mixed culture, especially in Istanbul. And the third one would be Serbia, it's my favourite for wine.
Mostly when I travel, I stay in hostels so that I have the opportunity to interact with people from all around the world. It's great to hear their life stories and how they’ve been travelling.
6. What are the top three places on your bucket list that you are yet to visit?
Oh, the first would be the Sahara desert train ride which is 48 hours long. Then, I want to visit Iceland and yes, I want to see the Northern Lights.
7. What are the challenges that you face as a travel content creator?
Well, I have faced some challenges during my journey as a travel vlogger. Earlier it used to be a bit awkward for me to go around filming myself. Then the editing part was a little hard for me. In the beginning, I didn’t know anything about video editing, etc. but it's a gradual process. You learn these things with experience. Apart from that, the visa has been the hardest part, especially for an Indian passport. Sometimes it's too tricky to get a visa.
8. What are your monetization methods?
If we talk about the travelling I have done before, when I was in immigration, I used to indulge in a lot of stock exchange, crypto market, freelancing, etc. From blogging, I haven’t earned anything. It was not a matter of money for me.
9. What is one achievement that you are extremely proud of?
I am thankful to God that I have been able to travel to 18-19 countries and been able to manage my expenses.
When we talk about experiences, I was not a person who could walk around for long, it was just not a habit for me. But when I started travelling, there was a mountain trek I did which I consider a great achievement for myself. It was 5-6km uphill and then downhill. It took us 6-7 hours. I have come a long way since then.
10. As a travel blogger, what are three tools that you cannot do without?
My camera, my backpack, and my laptop.
11. What is the one common thing that you are asked most often as a travel blogger?
One thing that I get asked about a lot are visa queries. Sometimes people also ask me about the places that I have been to.
12. What is one piece of advice that you would give to all the amateur travel bloggers out there?
Earn hard and spend well.
13. Anything else that you would like to say to our readers?
Keep doing what you’re doing. Stay focused and start making money. Make schedules for yourself and live up to those promises. Slowly you will get settled.
Even with his masters and job, Pawandeep has been able to travel to 17-18 countries in a budget-friendly way. He is passionate about shifting the mindsets of individuals who miss out on some of life's most memorable experiences because they assume that travelling is expensive.
Check out Pawandeep's amazing work by click on the links below:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traveling.singh/
Yotube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TravelingSingh